Charlotte school district gets access to $1.3M settlement

Our school district received notice from our attorney Tuesday, Oct. 6, that the contract damages from the City of Charlotte’s favorable decision in the Owens Brockway ruling will not be viewed as tax monies.

Thus, the year-long wait has ended, and the school district is now able to have access to the contract damages without penalty from the State of Michigan. This notification decision from the State of Michigan Treasury Department is due to its acknowledgment of the State Attorney General’s disposition of the court case, in which the revenue was for contractual damages, not taxes.

As a reminder, our school district was one of several public organizations to receive a share of these contract damages. Each public organization has had discretion on how to use the revenue.

The Charlotte Board of Education, following the advice of the school district’s attorney, did dedicate approximately $480,000 of the $1.3 million settlement to pay down debt associated with the previous capital projects funded by past bond proposals.

The board felt strongly about following the advice, but even more importantly, it wanted to be good stewards of public resources by using a portion of settlement revenue to reduce the long term debt of the District. I commend the board for taking this approach and for its serious focus on financial responsibilities for our school district and community.

Since we have been waiting for almost a year to ensure the use of the remaining settlement was “free and clear,” the board has had very little conversation on how to use or expend the revenue. The board simply has been in a wait and see mode.

Now that we have notification from the state that Charlotte Public Schools is actually afforded the use of the funds, the board of education Oct. 12, took formal action to place the balance of the contract damages – approximately $830,000 – in a committed and restricted account.

In placing the funds into a restricted and committed account, the board, with involvement of district administration, will take whatever time necessary to consider all concepts on how to dedicate the funds for the betterment of the school district.

Improvement considerations, will no doubt take many shapes and forms. They may include facility enhancements, curricular advancements or technological updates – just to name a few.

The board discussed this on Oct. 12 and will be taking ample time to evaluate projects or programming concepts.

The board wants to be thoughtful, deliberate and strategic. It believes there is absolutely no rush to do anything until a plan is in place; one that has evaluated long-term positive outcomes for our district and students.